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Medal of Honor: Pacific Assault
Medal of Honor: Pacific Assault is the seventh installment of the Medal of Honor franchise. It is the second and most recent in the series to be set in the Pacific Theatre of WWII. It released with a DVD version (November 2, 2004) and a CD version (November 9, 2004). There is also a Director's Edition which includes the DVD edition but with added content. The Director's Edition was featured in the Medal of Honor 10th Anniversary Edition. The game is the first to feature Pvt. Thomas Conlin (though, by the end of the game, he has made it Sgt.). Though the game ends in a cliffhanger ("The road to Tokyo is a long one, and we're only half way there..."-Thomas Conlin at the end of the game), it is unknown whether or not the planned sequel will be released, or is even still in development, as other games have been developed since the release of Pacific Assault. Gameplay Unlike previous Medal of Honor games, Pacific Assault places more emphasis on front-line combat and story. It was the first game to introduce Ironsights, allowing for precision aiming on weapons other than sniper rifles. There is also heavy emphasis on squad combat, with the playable character being able to give basic orders (advance, retreat, regroup, and open fire) to his squadmates, Frank Minoso, James Sullivan, and William Gaines. Plot Medal of Honor: Pacific Assault is the second game in the Medal of Honor series to focus upon the Pacific Theater rather than that of Europe. It revolves around United States Marine Thomas Conlin and his squad as they progress through the many major conflicts of the Pacific Theater, from Pearl Harbor to Tarawa Atoll. Boot Camp The first level is "Boot Camp," featuring the Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego California in September of 1941 where Thomas Conlin and his future squadmates go through the basic layout of the game, including controls, weapons, and commands. There are several stations, with the first being a simple obstacle course where Conlin must move through a tunnel, over a wall, crawl under barbed wire while machineguns fire above him, crawl through a mud-pit, reminiscent of "Quiggly" at the Marine Corps Officer Candidate School in Quantico, Virgnia, and melee a hanging dummy, where Conlin's squadmate Minoso excels at. From there, the men take a Deuce-and-a-Halve truck to the firing range portion of MCRD San Diego. The second portion of the level takes place at the firing range. Here, Conlin learns how to fire several different types of weapons, including an M1903 Springfield Rifle, an M1928A1 Thompson submachine gun and an M1903A5 Springfield sniper rifle, the M1919A4 Browning light machine gun, arm a Composition B explosive charge, fire mortars, and toss grenades. The final station is a course in squad commands, where Conlin learns to both give orders to the squad and also the procedures related to obtaining aid from the squad's medic, James Sullivan. In this exercise, Conlin carries squadmate Gaines to Sullivan for treatment, and himself must learn how to stop bleeding on himself and call for a corpsman. With the mission over, Conlin's squad's drill sergeant dismisses them to mess. Pearl Harbor "Pearl Harbor" focuses on the Japanese aerial attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941. Conlin enters the harbor in a jeep, Master Chief Petty Officer McAffee escorting him to his station on the USS Arizona as part of the Marine Corps Defense Battalion there. However, a plane flies low overhead towards the end of the tour. Initially, the sailors and marines believe the plane is an American plane with the Army Air Corps, but that thought is quickly dispelled when one sailor notes the "meatballs" on the wings. Suddenly, the attack begins, with the air becoming filled with Japanese airplanes, bombing the harbor and strafing the sailors, marines, and civilians nearby. Conlin and McAffee are thrown from their jeep by an explosion on their way to the dock, and proceed to move their way up the pier, attempting to both save injured sailors and shoot down Japanese planes, though mostly in vain. The two make their way to a patrol boat at the end of the pier, but as Conlin boards the boat, McAffee is killed. Conlin mans the dual machineguns mounted on the bow of the patrol boat, and proceeds to shoot down many Japanese airplanes as the patrol boat goes along Battleship Row. Along the way, numerous battleships are destroyed, with the Arizona's destruction being highlighted towards the end of the ride. The patrol boat then heads towards the U.S.S. West Virginia to aid the crew in keeping the ship from sinking. After saving numerous members of the ship's crew, including its executive officer, Conlin proceeds topside to help defend Pearl Harbor using, at first, an M2 Browning heavy machinegun, and then a quad anti-air gun. He helps keep the West Virginia from taking more damage, and then aids the Nevada in escaping Pearl Harbor. Makin island The Makin island story arc begins with something akin to a stealth mission, where Marine Raiders first scout out the island. After a recon plane is shot down, the squad quickly finishes up their original mission, and hurriedly go to rescue the downed pilot. They evacuate the pilot to the beach where they came in at, and then wait for their submarine to arrive. In the meantime, they have to defend themselves from a Japanese attack, with Conlin killing several Japanese mortar teams. Following that, the submarine arrives, and the Marines pile onto their rafts. However, it is discovered that Willy had gone missing, and Conlin must go and find him, then bring him back to the raft while defending both of them from Japanese attackers. On the boat ride back to the submarine, Japanese aircraft attack, trying to both kill the raiders and destroy the submarine Conlin shoots down several 'Zeroes' with Frank Minoso's BAR, and then proceeds to defend the submarine from a torpedo strafing run using a tower-mounted .50 caliber machinegun. Guadalcanal The third mission in Pacific Assault, Guadalcanal takes up the majority of the first half of the game, with Tarawa Atoll taking up the second half. Trivia *It is off how Sullivan is training with the Marines as he is a part of the Navy and would thus receive medical and combat training as part of the USN rather than with the Marines. The Marines use the Navy for non-combat rolls such as chaplains and medical personnel as the Marines themselves have no training facilities for these rolls and is a completely combat unit. This is most likely an oversight the developers made or a story engine to get the player more emotionally attached to Sullivan and to get the player experience with the revive system.﻿ *Conlin's actions on the USS West Virginia on December 7th are most likely based on those of Lieutenant Claude Ricketts, the fire control officer on the West Virginia who saved the ship from capsizing due to two torpedo hits with similar techniques that Conlin used. *The West Virginia was the same ship that Navy Cross recipient Doris Miller, a mess attendant who used a pair of M2 Browning machine guns to destroy incoming Japanese aircraft, as Conlin was situated in that day. *In the "Boot Camp" mission, it is odd how one of the training officers asks you to put away your rifle, but allow other soldiers to take their rifles with them. ﻿ Category:Games Category:Medal of Honor: Pacific Assault